EU backs US deal on passenger data

THE EU has approved an anti-terrorism deal with Washington for sharing passenger data on flights to the US, rejecting warnings about potential violations of privacy rights.

Some 34 different pieces of information on passengers flying to the US will be given to authorities, who may give them to third countries following the agreement yesterday.

Foreign ministers, meeting in Brussels, approved the deal hours after it was adopted by the executive European Commission, which brushed aside objections from the European Parliament.

The decision was greeted with fury by MEPs who voted against the agreement three times and just last month referred it to the European Court of Justice.

The US has been insisting commercial airlines provide this data for the past year as part of their war on terrorism, without any safety clauses as to its use.

The commission said the deal will give “adequate protection” to passengers from the EU as well as to European airlines.

“We came up with a balanced solution which the member states have supported,” said Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein.

A spokesperson for the commission admitted the US intends to share this information with agencies in third countries. He said they had agreed to inform Europol when this happens.

Under current arrangements up to 60 fields of information are going to US authorities, who intend to hold them for up to 50 years and share them with agencies, such as customs.

Data concerned includes such things as credit card numbers and contact information. “Sensitive” items, such as meal requests, that could indicate a passenger’s religion will either not be transferred or “filtered and deleted by US authorities”, Mr Bolkestein said.

Information will be used only to fight and prevent terrorism, including trans-national and organised crime, and will not be used in a wider range of law enforcement uses as originally sought by the US, the commission said.

The US has given an undertaking that they will only share information on a limited case-by-case basis.

But the commission spokesperson admitted there would be little the EU could do if the US breaks the agreement.

“If the US is not respecting its undertakings and if the data is not being adequately protected we could authorise the airlines to cease handing it over. But we would be in a state of jurisdictional conflict then,” the spokesperson said.

The US has said they will not allow any airline or flight to land that does not hand over all relevant passenger information first.

Most data will be deleted after three-and-a-half years, not the 50 years originally proposed by the US. However, files accessed by the US authorities will be kept for a further eight years.

Dublin MEP Proinsias de Rossa last night condemned the move.

“It is highly improper for the Court to be subverted in this way and for the judicial process to be interfered with like this. The Parliament was concerned about the issue of giving the data to third countries, the length it would be kept and that there was no legal guarantees given by the US about what they would do with the information,” he said.